Delicate
by weestarmeggie
Summary: Draco and Hermione navigate a post war Britain and all that comes with it. How do you begin to fall in love with someone when everything that's happened between the two of you is etched into each of your forearms forever? A series of short chapters that explores just that.
1. Malfoys Don't Sweat

To be fair, Draco never thought she'd say yes.

And he certainly never thought she'd be excited about it, that he'd overhear Potter complaining to Potterette about how animated she'd been at lunch about the whole thing.

He took another gulp of his fire-whiskey and glanced around the restaurant. There were a few people casting wary glances at him but thankfully, most of the diners were ignoring him. Ignorance was good, they'd be too busy pretending he wasn't there to agitate the witch he was waiting for by glaring and whispering indiscreetly.

Still, his palms were sweaty with anticipation and he kept having to wipe them on his trouser-leg so he could shake his date's hand when she eventually _showed up_. Draco checked the watch Potter had _bestowed_ upon him on the first anniversary of their auror partnership The missing witch in question should have arrived five minutes ago.

Draco felt his hands get sweatier. Merlin! Was she going to leave him stag? Had her saying yes and Potter _loudly_ eclaiming how enthusiastic she was about the whole thing been some big joke on him? Was he going to have to wander into work tomorrow and look at Potter's smug expre-

"Get a grip of yourself Malfoy" he mumbled to himself, "Potter's your friend, and she-"

"Are you talking to yourself Malfoy?"

Draco's head snapped up at the sound of her voice. She was standing at the edge of the table smirking at him. Draco would have thought she wasn't nervous at all, but her teeth were worrying her bottom lip, and her hands were clutching her bag and -

She was wearing a black dress. It had long sleeves, just like every dress he'd ever seen her wear did, but with a low cut neckline that emphasised her bust. It cinched at the waist and stopped just above her knee. Draco felt his mouth go dry, even as moisture continued to seep from every other pore of his body.

"Gra - Hermione" he corrected himself, stumbling out of his chair and standing to help her into the seat opposite him, immediately knocking the edge of the table in his haste. He felt heat bloom in his cheeks and caught the hint of a smile on Hermione's lips as she watched him struggle to be a gentleman, "Please" he said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, "have a seat?"

Hermione nodded, and placed her hand in his outstretched one. "You're nervous," she said quietly, after he had seated himself opposite her and poured her a glass of water from the jug that had already refilled itself three times while he'd been waiting.

Draco chuckled as he gave her a wry smile and a shaky nod, "A bit yeah."

Hermione nodded and cast her eyes downwards to the menu in front of her, "Me too," she whispered.

Draco felt his shoulders relax at her confession. "I thought you were going to stand me up... That you wouldn't be able to see past my reputation, past the mark on my arm."

Her eyes met his and she gave him a shy smile of her own. "I was standing outside for the past twenty minutes convincing myself that you really were in here waiting for me. That it wasn't some big joke."

Draco couldn't help himself, her words forced a bark of laughter from him and he grinned at her. "Well" he started, "we're both here. Wine?"


	2. The Art of Conversation

Neither of them seemed to be able to speak, which stumped them both considering Hermione often went off on rambles and Draco would regularly have to be hexed into silence. They both took unnecessary sips of their wine and stole glances at the other, smiling shyly when caught but that was it - words seemed to have failed them.

Hermione felt her heart sink and was about to force herself to engage with him when Draco broke the ice.

"You look really pretty."

She blushed and looked up to see him _blushing again_ , it made her laugh. Draco Malfoy was a smooth young man who always seemed to turn the head of every hot-blooded female in the ministry, regardless of his past and yet he here was, blushing for the second time in as many minutes because of **her.**

"You look nice too" she smiled at him, "I'm glad you finally asked me out."

"I'm glad you said yes" he smirked at her.

Hermione snorted into her wine, _there he is_ she thought.

* * *

"He didn't" she gasped, giggling into her wine as Draco told her about the first mission he and Harry ever went on.

Draco smirked, nodded and watched Hermione laugh until tears were falling from her face. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and passed it to her. When she eventually calmed down and wiped her face she grinned up at him.

"This was wonderful Draco."

Draco felt his breath hitch, and Hermione must have heard what she'd said too. She'd never called him by his name before. Not at Hogwarts when they'd returned as eighth years. Not when he'd join Potter for a beer after a hard days training and she'd be there, equally as wiped out from studying and interning in the ministry all day. Not when they'd both been picked as godparents for baby James. **Never.**

He averted his eyes and nodded before clearing his throat, "we should do it again sometime" he said casually, praying that she wouldn't hear the hope in his voice, that she'd permit him another chance at this.

"We should" she answered, raising her glass to him and winking.

* * *

So!" Ginny squealed, jumping onto Hermione's bed and startling her awake, "How was it?" Hermione blinked her eyes open and darted them to the muggle alarm clock that she kept on her bedside table to see that it read 6.45am, before she closed them again and tugged the duvet back up over her head.

"Come back at a more reasonable hour and i'll tell you all about it Ginevra" she muttered petulantly, scowling when the redhead proceeded to ignore her and burrowed her way into the bed beside her. "Why are you here anyway? Don't you have a husband and a baby and a, a -"

"A life?" Ginny snorted, grabbing Hermione's hand in her own and locking their fingers together, "don't be absurd. Besides" she started, a smirk beginning to twitch at her lips, "my _husband_ is playing quidditch with your _boyfriendddddddd_ " she teased, shrieking with delight when Hermione blushed and attempted to suffocate herself in her pillows.

* * *

"Are you ready?"

Harry snorted and turned to see Draco dusting residual floo powder from his quidditch robes, "yeah once James stops being a little shit we can drop him off and get to it."

Draco smirked and crossed the kitchen to lift his god-son into his arms, "oh Potter I don't know what you mean" he sighed mockingly, grinning at the two year old in his arms, "my godson is a delight."

"A delightful pain in my ass" he grumbled, slinging the changing bag over one shoulder and his broom over the other.

"What was that?" Draco asked, one eyebrow raised. Harry sighed dramatically when he saw James trying to emulate it.

"Nothing. Oh" he said, Ginny's parting words returning to him and turning to smirk at Draco, "How was your date?"

He laughed when Draco blushed and began to mumble about being late and rushed through the floo, James in one arm and his broom in the other.


	3. Why Are We Friends Again?

"It was nice" Hermione sighed, not looking up from the loose thread of her bedcover she was currently tugging at. Ginny pursed her lips.

"Nice?"

 _Draco held her coat open for her and Hermione blushed at his manners as she slipped into it, letting Draco take her arm as he led them from the restaurant and out into the stillness of the night. They walked in companionable silence, no longer bothered by the awkwardness that had plagued the beginning of their evening, to the apparition point at the end of the alley._

 _"I had a lovely time Granger" Draco murmured lowly, tucking an errant curl that had come loose behind her ear, "I meant what i said too, we should do this again."_

 _Hermione nodded and leaned forward to brush her lips over his cheek, before she turned on the spot and apparated into her living room._

Hermione's mouth twitched as she remembered the previous evening, a small smile beginning to curve over her lips, "yeah" she nodded, "nice."

* * *

Draco dashed into the burrow behind Harry and Ron, as the three men escaped the lashing rain, and shook himself of the water that clung to him, smirking as he listened to Harry and Ron continue their argument about the match they'd just played.

"You're a right git Ron" Harry huffed, though Draco could tell he wasn't being serious, "I thought you were my best mate but -"

"Oi" Draco interrupted, laughing, "thought I was your best mate?"

"Shut up Malfoy" he groaned. Draco winked at Ron and the other man laughed before he shuffled into the living room, where he was promptly attacked by numerous small children.

"Uncle Ron" a chorus of voices sang from the room and Harry rolled his eyes as he set the kettle. Draco left him to it and stepped into the living room to say a quick hello before he headed to the manor to spend the evening with his mother, when he spotted Hermione enter the room from the stairs.

He had spent most of the day thinking about her, only catching the snitch in the weekly. friendly game of quidditch that the auror department held because Ron had alerted him to it. The boys had teased him mercilessly, but Draco _didn't care._ So what if he was acting like a besotted teenager? He'd finally asked her out and she'd not only said yes and enjoyed their first date but seemed just as eager to go on a second one with him.

"Hi" she murmured lowly, when she'd crossed the room and ended up standing beside him.

"Hi" he smirked at her.

Hermione swallowed, Merlin he looked good. She'd never paid much attention to how good a set of quidditch robes looked on someone but now, now she couldn't help herself from biting her lip as she looked him over as subtle as she good. She blushed when Ginny winked at her though, not as subtle as she thought then.

"What are you up to the rest of the day?" she asked, taking a sip of her tea and looking anywhere but at him.

"I promised my mother that we'd have dinner" he answered. Hermione nodded, she knew it was a weekly thing between the two of them, what with Narcissa living alone in the manor now that Lucius was - "But i could always take you out for dessert?"

Hermione glanced up at him. She didn't miss the way his eyes darted to the lip she was nibbling on before they met hers, "Or" she started, swallowing her nerves and leaning across the tiny space between them to whisper in his ear, "you could always come to mine and have some?"

Draco raised an eyebrow, "It's a date Granger."


	4. Mother Knows Best

Draco arrived at his childhood home through the floo. He proceeded to dust the ash that clung to him as he made his way to the sunroom, where he knew his mother would be waiting. She was pouring him his own glass of wine, when he made his way through the double doors that led to the small but extravagant room.

"Mother" he said, settling into the chair opposite her, and lifting the cup before him in acknowledgement.

Narcissa Malfoy observed her son through narrowed eyes and pursed lips. There was something….different about him, because although his face portrayed the haughty demeanour he'd worn most of his life, there were less frown lines and his eyes continued to dart to the muggle watch he'd taken to wearing. She smirked into her cup when she realised just why he was so anxious to leave.

"Your date went well then?" She asked, making Draco choke on the hot liquid he'd just swallowed.

"How did y-"

"I'm your mother Draco. I know everything." Draco narrowed his eyes at her and placed his glass down on the table between them. Narcissa threw him a bone, "besides. There is this." She produced a copy of the Daily Prophet, already opened to the gossip pages. A picture of Draco and Hermione cuddled together as they made their way down Diagon Alley took up most of one page. Draco scowled at the picture, _and_ the accompanying headline.

"Bloody wankers" he muttered under his breath, before smarting, "sorry mother." Narcissa snorted.

"Oh no. I quite agree," she nodded before placing her own wine between them and reaching a hand towards her only son, "Draco" she said quietly.

Draco clasped her hand and nodded. He didn't need to hear what she wanted to say to understand the sentiment behind it. To know that no matter what anyone said or thought about him, that she knew better, that _the people who mattered knew better._

* * *

Hermione was waiting for Draco to arrive through her floo at any moment, and her nails were suffering the consequences of her anxiety. She wanted to take things slow. She wanted to get to know him _properly_ without the pressures of a social gathering and all their friends watching the pair of them. She wanted to know his favourite book, his favourite childhood memory. Understand what he was thinking about that made the tiny crease between his eyebrows appear. She wanted to know him intimately **before** they became intimate, because she knew. She knew that if she did she could easily fall in love with him. He was smart and witty - able to both keep up with _and_ challenge her where none of her friends before him had ever bothered to try. Not to mention how attractive he'd become over the years, filling out and permanently abandoning the hair-gel. Still, she was incredibly aware of the implications of having had invited him around to have _dessert_ as she'd so lasciviously worded it a few hours ago.

She remembered how harshly she'd treated him when Harry had first brought him around. Remembered how they'd both sneered at each other behind Harry's back because he was tired of it all - he just wanted some peace. Over time they'd managed to work on the animosity between them, animosity that had obviously masked the real issue between them, attraction.

She was so focused on watching the floo in front of her that she was startled by the knocking at her door and immediately jumped up ready to send whoever it was on their way

"I'm sorry," she started, opening the door, "I'm afraid i'm on my way ou - Draco" she exclaimed beaming at him. Draco smirked at her. He knew it'd been a good idea to show up like this, surprise her. He stepped through the door and turned to present her with the tulips he'd snagged from his mother's garden and a cheesecake the woman had forced on him.

Hermione was too busy thinking about how good he looked out of his quidditch robes and in a pair of jeans and a long black sleeved jersey polo neck, to notice that he'd noticed her gawping.

"Dessert first Granger" he winked at her, laughing at her blush.


	5. Muggle Moves

"So," Draco drawled as he sauntered into her apartment, draped his jacket over the back of one of her armchairs as though he'd done it a million times before, and turned to face her, "How do you want to do this?"

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she walked towards him, cheesecake in one hand, flowers in the other. "Do What Malfoy?" she asked, blushing at the implication of his words.

"Dessert. Do we eat it in here or in the kitchen? Crockery and cutlery or fingers and napkins? Do keep up Granger," he leered at her. Hermione rolled her eyes and stepped past him into the kitchen.

"Prat," she muttered under her breath, but she heard him quietly chuckling behind her and turned to see he'd followed her into the kitchen. She smiled at him.

* * *

Ten minutes later, and they were sitting side by side on her small couch, a bowl of strawberry cheesecake on each of their laps as they settled in to watch a dvd. They'd sat beside each other before of course, but now.

Now the tension between them was ridiculous. Hermione didn't know what to do with herself. She wanted to pull her feet up beneath her and settle into his side, but Merlin, this was only technically their second date and she had no intention of embarrassing herself.

Draco wasn't fairing much better. He wanted to wrap his arms round the witch and relax for the remainder of their evening but Hermione was sitting stiff as a board beside him and he wasn't sure how to make it better. Until of course, he remembered something that he'd seen in one of the movies Potter had made him watch in preparation for his date with the witch beside him.

 _"_ _So what you're saying Potter is that if I pretend to yawn, stretch my arms over my head and then let one of them fall along the back of the sofa, that Granger'll fall into my side and cuddle with me?"_

 _Harry removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as he did, "well yeah" he shrugged, "it's a pretty standard move Malfoy."_

 _Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry, "pretty standard muggle move Potter."_

 _Harry simply rolled his eyes and continued to shovel popcorn into his mouth._

Draco cast a glance at Hermione before he feigned a yawn and did just that, continuing to watch her face as he did. He couldn't stop his own smirk when he saw her lips tug up into a smile and she not only accepted his arm resting on her shoulders, but leaned into him and pulled her legs up so that she was basically lying on the sofa against him.

"Ok?" she asked quietly, not looking up at him. Draco squeezed her shoulder and nodded, relaxing into the sofa himself and kicking his legs out in front of him.

"Yeah."

* * *

"That was good," Hermione murmured when the film was finally over and the credits rolled. She didn't want to move from the position they'd found themselves in. She hadn't felt this relaxed on a date in a long time, and she still couldn't quite believe that it was because of Draco Malfoy, that she did. Draco only hummed, and Hermione bit her lip when she felt his chest rumble beneath her cheek. She glanced up at him to find him looking at her, his eyes darting between her own and the lip she had tucked between her teeth.

"Hermione," he whispered, tipping his head forward so that they were only centimetres apart.

"Draco."

He groaned then and slid the hand that had started on her shoulder but ended up on her waist, up to cup her face gently. He felt her breath hitch, the lip she'd been nibbling on fell from between her teeth and was red and puffy and -

He couldn't help himself. He brushed his lips over her own, once then again, and when she didn't pull away he let his tongue come out and gently swiped her lips with it before he dipped it into her mouth and snogged her for the first time, only pulling back when Hermione moaned into his mouth and he felt his trousers tighten. They were both panting.

"I should go," he muttered, running his thumb across her pouting lips. Hermione closed her eyes but nodded, and slowly lifted herself from him to stand, only to find herself tugged back into his arms seconds later when he too stood.

"I'll see you at work tomorrow. See if I can ditch Potter and I'll take you for lunch?" he asked, walking to her fireplace but not letting her escape from his arms. Hermione nodded.

"That would be nice."

Draco smirked and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before gently nudging her back towards the sofa, "Night Granger," he called before disappearing in a flurry of green flame.

Hermione sighed dreamily and fell back into the couch, "Night Draco."


	6. You're the Worst

**A/N: God it's so nice to write some goddamned fluff**

* * *

"If you don't stop staring Potter, people are going to think that you fancy me or something."

Harry bristled and dropped his head back down to glare at the stack of paperwork that had accumulated on his desk over the weekend. "Wanker," he muttered under his breath, smirking when he heard Draco laugh.

"Never said I wasn't," Draco teased from across the office. Harry crumpled up a spare bit of parchment and threw it at him, scowling when Draco ducked out of the way.

"I'll just ask her myself at lunch," he grumbled. Draco shot up at that.

"Not a chance Potter, _I'm_ taking her to lunch today."

Harry sat back in his chair, folded his arms across his chest and smirked, "Oh really?"

Draco narrowed his eyes at his best mate and mirrored his posture. "Yes," he sneered, "really."

* * *

"You really need to find a new job," Hermione muttered as Ginny paced around her office, James bouncing in her arms. The redhead smirked at her.

"But then who would tease and torment you about your love life?"

Hermione glared at her, "I hate you. You know that right?"

Ginny laughed, her shoulders shaking and threw herself down onto Hermione's sofa - the one she had been told made her office feel less like an interrogation room and more like somewhere people could relax. Hermione had supposed it was a fair point, she always had been a bit intimidating to other after all, and to be fair, her success rate had increased since she'd acquired the comfy piece of furniture.

"Please," Ginny pouted, "at least tell me if you kissed?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, but she could feel her lips tugging up into a smile at the memory of Draco's lips brushing against hers, his hand cupping her face delicately as he-

She jolted at Ginny squealing, "oh my Merlin," she exclaimed, "you did!"

Hermione groaned and slouched back in her chair. "You are the actual worst," she muttered petulantly.

* * *

She hadn't even opened her mouth to say hello when Draco waltzed into her office at twelve-thirty, dropped into the chair in front of her desk and groaned, "our friends are the worst."

Her lips immediately widened into a grin and a laugh escaped her. Draco snapped his head up to look at her.

"What?" he asked, "they are," he insisted.

Hermione nodded and stood from her desk, "I agree completely," she smiled, rounding her desk and tugging her coat on. Draco stood from the chair and stopped in front of her. His fingers itching to tug her into him and close the distance between them. He settled for tucking her hair behind her ear and placing a chaste kiss on her cheek.

"You look lovely Granger," he murmured lowly, his voice tickling across her neck. Hermione licked her lips and looked up at him - his eyes were following the path of her tongue and she ran her hands up the length of his arms to place them around his neck when he audibly groaned.

"I change my mind," he muttered, dropping his head so that their foreheads were pressed together, "you. You're the worst."

Hermione laughed and led him out of her office, uncaring of the whispers and looks that many of her co-workers in the department of magical law enforcement, were shooting them as they walked closely together, her arm hooked through the crook of his elbow.

* * *

Hermione watched Draco order a bottle of wine for the pair of them in perfect french and felt goosebumps erupt along her arms at the way the words fell from his mouth. Merlin! He sounded exquisite and she found herself thinking about all the other things his mouth could do - how his tongue would curl around he-

"Granger?"

She jolted and blushed when she realised he'd caught her staring, his wolfish grin doing nothing to appease the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "Shut up," she mumbled, taking a sip of the water that had been poured as soon as they'd sat down.

"So, did you manage to get any work done this morning or did you just sit around all morning and moon over me?" He smirked. Hermione rolled her eyes and nudged his shin with the tip of her stiletto.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she asked innocently, spreading her napkin on her lap. At his continued silence, she rolled her eyes, "I had a visit from Ginny actually."

"Those two need to get out more," he groaned. Hermione grinned, secretly delighted that Harry had spent much of the morning apparently torturing Draco as Ginny had her. She was about to open her mouth to agree with him when a smooth voice interrupted them.

"Malfoy. Granger," Adrian Pucey drawled. Hermione saw Draco's jaw tense and she looked up to see her colleague appraising her, his eyes lingering on her cleavage. She shuddered and turned back to the menu in front of her.

"Adrian," she said as politely as she could.

"Pucey," Draco ground out, "what can I do for you?"

"Oh nothing," he said waving his hand dismissively, "just wanted to say hello and pass on my condolences."

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his remark, but Draco had already stood from his seat. Hermione could see him clenching his fists.

"Excuse me?" he hissed. Hermione felt a shiver of desire work it's way down her spine and looked up to see him sneering down at the other wizard. God he was attractive when he was worked up.

"You heard," Pucey spat, his eyes flashing towards Hermione. She got it then, felt reality crash over her like a bucket of ice water, her arousal disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

Draco snarled and Hermione jumped from her seat when he swung his fist and smashed it into Pucey's jaw, the wizard crumbling to the floor under the force of it. She reached for Draco at the same time he pulled his elbow back to hit him again.

"Don't," she mumbled, ignoring the stares and gasps that the restaurant's other patrons were directing their way.

Draco nodded sharply and straightened himself out before reaching for her, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her taut against him. "Let's go," he gritted out, pulling them abruptly from the restaurant, leaving a furious Pucey sprawled out on the floor and a bewildered maitre'd, bottle of wine in hand, behind.


End file.
